


Dancing

by deaththerabbit



Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Drinking, M/M, Nightclub AU, slight shinobu/tetora, uhhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-09
Updated: 2018-08-09
Packaged: 2019-06-24 05:10:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,747
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15623274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/deaththerabbit/pseuds/deaththerabbit
Summary: Midori is dragged to a nightclub after a long day at work, where he meets someone that may just help him loosen up.





	Dancing

Blaring music deafened Midori as he walked into the nightclub that his friends, Tetora and Shinobu, had dragged him to after they had left work later than usual. They had thought it would be a good idea to go out on the town, despite his firm refusal.

He would have much preferred just to go home and go to bed. Yet, here he was on a busy Friday night, in a place he had no desire to be. It was far too much noise for him, and far too busy.

Midori couldn’t bring himself to get drawn into the upbeat dance music like Shinobu and Tetora had the moment they had entered the club. He watched them dancing in the center of the dancefloor, seeming to be having the time of their lives already, hands linked securely together.

He didn’t really understand why they had wanted him to come along when he was just a third wheel to their date night. With a shake of his head, he slipped through the crowd and up to the bar, plopping down into an empty seat with a sigh.

Thankfully, only one of the seats next to him was taken so far, and he had a little room to himself.

“What can I getcha?” The bartender asked, leaning over the counter and practically shouting at him.

Midori could barely hear him over the music and drunken laughter. He didn’t understand why the other two had brought him to a place like this. It was loud and sweaty and crowded in here. “Just a lemon sour!” He shouted across the counter.

The bartender waved his hand and whisked away to make his drink. Midori sighed and glanced over in the direction of the empty seat. Now that he was paying attention, there were actually two empty seats. Maybe Shinobu and Tetora would come sit down when they got tired, so that he didn’t have to sit between drunken strangers.

His hopes were dashed when two strangers plopped down in the seats several moments later, one with beautiful brown hair and the other with bright blue hair. They were notable, but he would be happy to forget them the moment he left the club.

Midori lifted his drink and sipped at it slowly. The bartender had brought it to him just a moment before the strangers sat down next to him. He smacked his lips slightly at the sourness from the lemon.

He had already gone through his first drink, when a second was brought to him almost immediately. It was strange, because he knew that he hadn’t ordered another one. “Ah, I didn’t order another drink…” He said hesitantly.

“Oh, it’s from the gentleman next to you.” He nodded towards the brown-haired man, who sat talking with the blue haired man next to him. The next moment, he was gone, off to make a drink for another patron.

Dumbfounded, Midori stared down at the drink for a moment, unsure of himself. He hadn’t ever been bought a drink like this before, and it was a strange feeling. It wasn’t a bad feeling per se, but it was something he was hesitant to let himself feel.

Unable to figure out what to say, Midori turned back to the drink that had been bought for him. He stared down at it, tilting his head to the side slightly. Was this really for him? It hadn’t been some sort of mistake?

“Hey, hey.” A voice shouted at him.

Midori turned to see that the man who had bought him the drink was smiling at him brightly, his brown eyes sparkling. “What is it?”

“I hope you enjoy the drink. You seem kinda down. Say...what’s your name? I’m Morisawa Chiaki!” He winked, his smile growing.

Was...was this stranger flirting with him? Midori couldn’t tell, but the wink certainly suggested so. “Takamine Midori.” He replied hesitantly, hardly able to meet his gaze. He almost felt as if he were staring at the sun, as if he would burn beneath the bright warmth that radiated from Chiaki’s smile.

“It’s nice to meet you, Midori! Just get off work, huh? Why don’t you loosen up a bit? It might make you feel better!” Chiaki suggested, leaning closer so that he didn’t have to yell quite as loud.

“Ah, I don’t even want to be here. I’m just waiting for my friends to get tired…” Midori glanced over at the dancefloor, frowning when he realized that Shinobu and Tetora were no longer there. He spotted them a few moments later, however, making out sloppily in a corner. With the way things were going with the pair of them, it was likely that they would forget about him and either stay out far later than they should or leave early so that they could continue partying on their own.

Chiaki followed his gaze and frowned a bit. A moment later, his smile brightened a bit. He leaned closer to Midori, reaching over and loosening up his tie. “C’mon! Let’s dance.” He winked again, hopping off his seat and taking him by the hand.

Midori slipped off the stool and followed Chiaki onto the dance floor, too startled by his boldness to protest or refuse. He supposed it was better than just getting sad and drunk at the bar.

Spinning him around, Chiaki shifted closer to Midori once they were in the center of the dance floor. “C’mon, take that off!” He reached around Midori and forced him to take off his suit jacket, throwing back to the blue haired man, who still sat at the bar. “Now dance!”

Midori fell into the rhythm of dancing that everyone else had, trying his hardest not to elbow anyone in the process. He felt a hand take his own and drag him closer, and his head whipped around to see that it was just Chiaki.

They were so close now that Midori was practically pressed up against Chiaki. It was nearly impossible to back away now, with the crowd closing in on the spot he’d left open.

For a short while, they danced close together like that, and Midori felt himself relaxing; felt the tension lifting from his shoulders. Even though he knew that Chiaki wouldn’t be able to see it with the lights strobing like they were, he wished the blush that had risen up on his cheeks would just go away.

A stray elbow knocked into his ribs, throwing him off balance. He bumped right into Chiaki, eyes widening as he began to slip in someone’s spilled drink.

Strong arms caught him easily, one gentle hand placed on his hip and the other arm wrapped securely around his back. “You okay? Maybe we should take a break!”

Without waiting for Midori’s answer, he pushed through the crowd, one hand on his lower back to propel him forward back towards the bar. It wasn’t that Chiaki was pushing him along without any regard for what he wanted to do that made Midori so flustered.

It was where Chiaki kept his hand placed, at the base of his spine, right where his suit pants met his tucked shirt. His touch was gentle, reassuring against his unsteady frame.

Midori hesitated briefly before sitting down back where he was before. He was breathing hard, tired out from all that dancing, even though they hadn’t been dancing for all that long anyway.

“Hey, hey, can we get two of those drinks that my pal, Midori, likes?” Chiaki called out to the bartender, face flushed red and eyes as bright as stars. He was clearly having the time of his life.

“Ah, I really shouldn’t drink too much more…” It would be his third one, and while he wasn’t a lightweight like Shinobu was, he also hadn’t had that much to eat yet.

“Aw, man, loosen up a bit!” Chiaki replied, nearly slipping off his seat the moment he sat down. It seemed as if Chiaki were the one that shouldn’t drink much more. “Hey, y’know what we should do?”

Midori reached over to steady Chiaki, a small frown forming on his face. Was he alright? “What’s that?”

“We should take a selfie together, so that we can remember this night! I may not have known you long, but I don’t want to forget you!” Chiaki replied, reaching around in his pockets for his phone.

Chiaki’s enthusiasm was a little difficult for Midori to handle, but there was something he couldn’t name that attracted him to him. He was kind of cute, in an energetic way. He himself hadn’t felt that energetic or happy in a long time, but just by being in Chiaki’s presence, he could feel it rubbing off on him. He felt lighter, more free than he had in awhile. Or maybe that was just the alcohol. Yeah, it was definitely just the alcohol that was making him feel this way.

“Whoa, whoa, slow down!” Midori reached out to try and take the drink Chiaki had just received from the bartender. He had already downed a quarter of it, and showed no sign of stopping soon.

“Hey, relax, Midori, I can handle my liquor!” This was a lie. He held the glass out of Midori’s reach, shifting far enough away from him to down the rest of it before he could be stopped.

“How many have you had?” Midori asked, slightly concerned. How many had Chiaki had already? He’d only seen him drink one before they had started to dance, but he didn’t know if he had been at another nightclub before coming here.

“Here? Oh, just two!” Chiaki replied, laughing. He winked at Midori and stuck his tongue out at him. “Don’t worry, though, I’m just fine!”

That proved to be a lie, as a moment later, he slipped off his chair, trying to wave over the bartender again.

“How many total?” Midori asked, catching him by the arm and pulling him up carefully.

“Ah...three? Four maybe? I’m not sure.” Chiaki replied after thinking about it for a moment. “Kanata says I’m a lightweight, but I don’t think that’s the case!”

Midori could tell that that was exactly the case, especially with the way Chiaki couldn’t seem to stand without swaying just slightly. He did not envy Chiaki for the hangover he would have in the morning.

“Ah, could we get some water over here?” Midori called to the bartender. “And some fries!” He wasn’t sure this would help much at this point, but he figured it was better to at least get Chiaki something to eat.

“How’d you know?” Chiaki seemed shocked, his brown eyes wide.

“Know what?” He was beginning to wonder if Chiaki had had more than four drinks and had just forgotten about them. He was sounding terribly out of it.

“That my favorite food is fries!” Chiaki replied, his words beginning to slur just a bit. “Ah...I don’t...I don’t feel well all of a sudden.” His face had grown pale, and he looked as if he were about to be sick.

“Ah, dammit…” Midori mumbled, getting up off his seat and slipping his arm around Chiaki’s waist to guide him outside, where he could get some air.

He navigated Chiaki through the crowd as quickly as he could manage, pushing through the door.

Cold air hit their faces, biting sharply at their skin. Midori carefully took Chiaki over to a nearby alley, frowning when Chiaki suddenly leaned over and began to heave.

He couldn’t watch this, and instead just left his hand on Chiaki’s back, rubbing his hand absentmindedly until Chiaki stopped gagging.

“Feeling better?” He asked, finally glancing down at him.

Chiaki was panting, his breath raspy and painful. “I’m...I’m okay…” He managed to choke out, suddenly exhausted. “I’m completely fine!”

“No, you’re not.” Midori let out a sigh, guiding him to the other side of the alley and helping him sit down against the brick wall. “What’s your friend’s number, the one who was with you before?”

“Ahh...he won’t pick up, I saw him leave with someone while we were dancing…” Chiaki smiled faintly. “Perhaps you can take me home. I wouldn’t mind.” He winked in a way that clearly implied a double meaning.

Midori could not hide the way his cheeks flushed red. “Quit that.” He averted his eyes to hide his embarrassment. “Where do you live?”

“Ah, we’d have to take a train to get there. Aren’t all the trains closed by now…?” Chiaki wiped his mouth, trying to contain his smile at least a little.

Midori glanced at his watch, startled to find that it was already well past three AM. “Ah, damn…” He muttered, a frown on his face. The trains had definitely stopped running for the night.

Thankfully, his apartment wasn’t far away. It would only be about a ten minute walk there, and he supposed that he wouldn’t mind giving up his bed and sleeping on the couch to let Chiaki rest. He was certain that Chiaki would pass out the moment he plopped over anyway, with as drunk as he was.

“You can stay at my place for the night.” Midori said reluctantly, helping Chiaki back up. “Just to sleep, okay?” He added as Chiaki broke into a wide grin.

“Of course! I would never do anything to make you uncomfortable.” Chiaki replied, practically falling against Midori as he lost his footing.

Midori slipped his arm around Chiaki’s waist to keep him from falling again and carefully helped him down the street in the direction of his apartment. “Try not to fall over again.” He could only do so much, even though he hadn’t had quite as much to drink as Chiaki had.

The walk seemed longer than it really was, with Chiaki hanging off Midori’s shoulder. He already seemed to be half asleep, and while Midori would refuse to admit it, it was kinda cute that he was such a lightweight and disaster drunk.

Thankfully, no one else seemed to be out and about to see them. It was a big relief for Midori. The questions and knowing looks would never stop if any of the other people in his apartment complex saw him coming home tipsy with a complete stranger.

Midori helped Chiaki up the stairs to his apartment, taking care to make sure that he wouldn’t fall down.

When they reached the door, Midori reached for his keys in his back pocket, only to freeze when he felt a hand slip into his back pocket. “What the hell are you doing?” He blurted, his face burning red.

Keys jangled, and Chiaki slowly offered Midori the keyring. “Getting these for youuuu!” He dragged out his last word longer than necessary as he rested his head on Midori’s shoulder. “You’re hands are kinda full with me, right now, anyway.”

Midori snatched the keys away from him, fumbling with them until he found the right one. He struggled to put the key into the lock, flustered by Chiaki’s earlier actions, managing to do it only after several tries.

He pushed the door open and helped Chiaki inside, kicking the door shut behind them. Fumbling around for the light switch, Midori almost tripped over a pair of stray sandals that he had forgotten to put away the other day.

“Dammit…” Midori grumbled, finally finding the switch and flipping it on.

His apartment was an absolute disaster. He hardly had time to clean up, especially when he was always working late and being dragged to nightclubs by his friends. He hardly ever had time to cook anymore, which led to the stack of take-out boxes piling up on the kitchen table. The moment they stepped into the kitchen, it made Chiaki laugh.

“I don’t have time to cook, don’t laugh at me.” Midori grumbled, pulling out a chair and helping Chiaki sit down. “Now stay there.”

He turned and went to the cupboard, fishing out a clean glass and filling it to the brim with cold water from the tap. He brought to Chiaki and sat it down in front of him. 

“Drink all of that.” Midori turned away again and went to the fridge. He opened the door and looked to see what he had. He hoped that feeding Chiaki would help.

There wasn’t much, unfortunately, and Midori was half tempted to order take-out again. It was probably better to not to spend so much money in one night, however; he was sure his tab at the nightclub was quite high at this point.

With great reluctance, Midori grabbed the bread, cheese and butter from the fridge. Grilled cheese would be okay, right?

“What are you making?” Chiaki asked between gulps of water.

“You’ll see.” Midori dropped the bread, butter, and cheese on the counter haphazardly and retrieved a frying pan from the dishwasher. He placed it on the stovetop and turned the burner on.

While he waited for the frying pan to heat up, Midori grabbed a butter knife and began to butter four slices of bread; one sandwich for each of them.

He slapped down two slices of bread onto the frying pan, turning away to begin slicing cheese as the bread began to sizzle. He tossed the uneven slices of cheese onto the bread, and put the remaining pieces of bread over the cheese.

The bread continued to sizzle on the pan while he snatched a spatula from sink. He rinsed it off to make sure it wasn’t too dirty, before returning to check on the sandwiches. It probably wasn’t good manners to use a dirty spatula on food for a guest, but he supposed it didn’t matter because Chiaki had already seen the state of his kitchen table. It really couldn’t get much worse than that, so he had decided not to care.

Behind him, he heard Chiaki get up and pass him on his way to the sink. He glanced over to make sure Chiaki wouldn’t sway too much and fall. He really didn’t understand why Chiaki would want to get so drunk. He supposed it didn’t matter, anyway, since after tomorrow morning, they would never see each other again.

The thought of never seeing Chiaki made Midori sad, strangely enough. He hardly knew this man, and yet, he didn’t want to see him go quite yet. He was cheerful and...he couldn’t help but like him at least a little bit.

Midori flipped the sandwiches and shook his head to clear his thoughts. It was better not to think about it. Chiaki was a complete stranger, after all, and it was stupid of him to be sad that they would never meet again. Yeah, he was just being stupid.

The faucet turned on, and Midori listened as Chiaki refilled his glass. He said nothing as Chiaki came to stand by him, instead listening to the sizzling of the sandwiches on the frying pan. It wouldn’t be long now.

“Mm...Midori.” Chiaki said softly, his voice surprisingly close to Midori’s ear.

“What is it?” Midori asked, hardly sparing him a glance. He went around Chiaki and grabbed some plates from the cabinet, bringing them back around to the stove. He clicked off the stove and flipped up the sandwiches to check how they were.

“Do you think we could see each other again?” Chiaki glanced away, a nervous smile on his reddening face. “I...really like you, and...I’d like to get to know you better.”

Midori’s hand stilled, spatula and sandwich halfway to a plate. “I...what?” He could hardly believe his ears. Did Chiaki really want to see someone like him again? He couldn’t understand why on earth Chiaki would actually like him.

“Maybe I could cook you an actual dinner or something...I could imagine it’s been a long time since you’ve had a homemade meal.” Chiaki stared at the sizzling sandwich still on the frying pan.

Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Midori dropped the sandwich on the plate and scooped up the second one, repeating the same motion. “I…” He didn’t know how to respond for several moments.

“Ah, sorry, I shouldn’t have asked…” Chiaki rubbed the back of his head and laughed awkwardly. “Forget about it!”

Midori frowned, handing over one plate to Chiaki. “It’s not that...I was just confused. I…” He hesitated for just a moment before continuing, “I would like to see you again.” He turned his face away from Chiaki to hide his blush.

There was a clatter as Chiaki’s plate hit the counter and he wrapped his arms tightly around Midori. “Good! Because I really, really do like you!” 

Midori stumbled backwards awkwardly, reaching backwards to brace himself against the counter so that he didn’t fall. He put the plate down and wrapped one arm securely around Chiaki. “Quit that.” He grumbled. “Just eat your sandwich before it gets cold.”

Chiaki pulled away from Midori reluctantly and turned back to his sandwich. He completely ignored the greasy melted butter that immediately began to drip down onto his hands and took a massive bite.

His eyes widened as he seemed to realize how hungry he was, and he gobbled his sandwich down in just a few bites, while Midori ate more slowly.

“Are you feeling better?” Midori asked once Chiaki had finished.

“Mhm! Much better! Thanks!” He smiled brightly, trying to stifle a yawn at the same time.

“Good. You should go to sleep then. You can have my room. It’s down the hall on the left.” Midori finished his grilled cheese and gently pushed Chiaki inn the direction of his room, despite his protests. “Quit arguing.”

Chiaki heaved a sigh, only giving in when Midori made him lie down. The moment his head hit the pillow, he was having difficulty keeping his eyes open. It took only a few moments for him to begin snoring, completely asleep.

Midori smiled faintly and turned away. He shut the light off and went to the hall cupboard, grabbing a spare blanket and pillow. Then he shuffled off into the living room and set up the couch for bed.

He slipped off his shoes and sock and laid down on the couch, too tired to care much about sleeping in his suit.

Much in the same way Chiaki had, Midori drifted off into an easy sleep. It had certainly been a strange night, and unbeknownst to either of them, both Midori and Chiaki would be having many strange years together.

**Author's Note:**

> This was suggested by my dear friend, RA, and I hope you like it! Thanks so much for reading! I hope everyone enjoyed this fic; it was a lot of fun to write!


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